Fast Break

Super Bowl TV

Substance, nonsense and all inbetween

I

Expect to see lots of American Idol’s Ryan Seacrest during Fox’s four-hour pregame, which kicks off at 11 a.m. today. He’s billed as the show’s “entertainment host.” Guess that makes Curt Menefee the “non- entertainment host.”

II

Idol’s Paula Abdul will sing during the pregame. If Fox is really interested in all this cross-promotion and attracting non-traditional demographics to shows, maybe grumpy old coaches Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer should judge the next Idol competition.

III

Over-under, established by an oddsmaker on the number of times play-by-play voice Joe Buck will mention Peyton Manning’s name during the game: 5 1/2. Take the over.

IV

Fox is charging advertisers a record $2.7 million for every 30 seconds of commercial time. How bad can the economy be?

V

Not interested in Tom Petty (above) and the rest of the halftime extravaganza? The Oxygen network is offering a 22-minute sneak peak of its new reality series, Deion & Pilar: Prime Time Love.

Yup, it’s about Mr. & Mrs. Deion Sanders of Prosper, Texas. In this episode, watch them debate who should do household chores. Honest.

VI

NBC is counter- programming the Fox pregame show with an NHL game – Rangers at Canadiens. It might have done better to simply air The Mouse that Roared.

VII

There’s no better Super Bowl story than Lt. Colonel Greg Gadson’s relationship with the New York Giants, which has its roots in his football playing days at Army. ESPN has it at around 9:30 a.m.

VIII

Some time between 12:30 and 1 p.m., Willie Nelson and Sarah Evans are scheduled to sing “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys.” Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson might have proved more entertaining.

IX

Between 1:30 and 2 p.m., look for a Fox feature on the “Making of Bud Light’s Super Bowl commercials.” It’s gotta be worth $10 million in free advertising. Just guessing it will be book-ended by paid Bud Light Super Bowl commercials.

X

The game appears to be a lock to shatter the mark as the most-watched program in TV history. The record is 141.4 million viewers for Patriots-Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII.